Short answer: San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker has 35 performances at the War Memorial Opera House from Friday, December 4 to Sunday, December 27, 2026. Most days have a 2:00 PM matinee and a 7:00 PM evening show, December 8 to 10 have a single 6:00 PM show, and Christmas Eve and December 27 start at 11:00 AM. After Nutcracker, the 2027 season runs six programs from January 29 to May 2. Every date is on our San Francisco Ballet tickets page.
SF Ballet Nutcracker 2026: curtain times by date
| Date | Curtain times |
|---|---|
| Fri, Dec 4 | 7:00 PM |
| Sat, Dec 5 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Sun, Dec 6 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Tue, Dec 8 | 6:00 PM |
| Wed, Dec 9 | 6:00 PM |
| Thu, Dec 10 | 6:00 PM |
| Fri, Dec 11 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Sat, Dec 12 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Sun, Dec 13 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Tue, Dec 15 | 7:00 PM |
| Wed, Dec 16 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Thu, Dec 17 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Fri, Dec 18 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Sat, Dec 19 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Sun, Dec 20 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Tue, Dec 22 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Wed, Dec 23 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Thu, Dec 24 | 11:00 AM, 4:00 PM |
| Sat, Dec 26 | 2:00 PM, 7:00 PM |
| Sun, Dec 27 | 11:00 AM, 4:00 PM |
There are no Nutcracker performances on Monday, December 7, Monday, December 14, Monday, December 21 or Christmas Day. Times are the curtain times on each listing; click a time to see seats for that performance.
Which Nutcracker performance to pick
For young children, the morning shows on Christmas Eve (Thu, Dec 24, 11:00 AM) and the closing day (Sun, Dec 27, 11:00 AM) finish before lunch, and the 2:00 PM matinees on weekends are the other family favorites. The three 6:00 PM weeknight shows (Tue, Dec 8; Wed, Dec 9; Thu, Dec 10) end earlier than a 7:00 PM curtain, which helps on a school night. Opening night is Friday, December 4 at 7:00 PM, and the final performance is Sunday, December 27 at 4:00 PM. Weekends and the days just before Christmas usually have the fewest seats left, while the early-December weeknights tend to have the most choice.
The 2027 season at a glance
| Program | Dates | Performances | Choreography | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sleeping Beauty | Jan 29 – Feb 7 | 10 | Helgi Tomasson after Marius Petipa; music by Tchaikovsky | Full-length story ballet, about 2 hours 45 minutes with intermissions |
| Titans of Choreography | Feb 16–21 | 7 | Hans van Manen (Grosse Fuge), Christopher Wheeldon (Within the Golden Hour), Akram Khan (Dust) | Mixed bill of three works |
| Jewels | Feb 27 – Mar 7 | 9 | George Balanchine | Three-part plotless ballet: Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Mar 19–27 | 10 | George Balanchine; music by Mendelssohn | Full-length story ballet after Shakespeare |
| Divine Creatures | Apr 8–14 | 7 | Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber (world premiere), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Faun), Yuri Possokhov (Violin Concerto) | Mixed bill, about 1 hour 50 minutes with intermissions |
| Manon | Apr 23 – May 2 | 10 | Kenneth MacMillan | Three-act story ballet, about 2 hours 34 minutes with intermissions |
The date link opens the first performance of each program. Run times come from San Francisco Ballet’s program pages, and programs and casting can change.
Story ballets or mixed bills?
If you want a story from start to finish, choose The Sleeping Beauty in late January and early February, A Midsummer Night’s Dream in March or Manon in late April. Jewels is a full evening without a plot, built around three styles of dancing and three composers. Titans of Choreography and Divine Creatures are mixed bills of shorter works, including the season’s world premiere by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber on Thursday, April 8, 2027. Saturdays usually have a 2:00 PM matinee and an 8:00 PM evening show, Sundays have a 2:00 PM matinee, and weekday performances start at 7:30 PM.
Buying San Francisco Ballet tickets
All 88 performances are on our San Francisco Ballet tickets page, and every event at the theater is on the War Memorial Opera House page. For ballet, the center orchestra about a third of the way back and the front of the dress circle or grand tier show the full stage, and the balcony is the most affordable view. Resale prices can be above or below the original price, and the total at checkout includes fees. Delivery method and timing are shown on each listing. Questions? Call 855-855-6777.